Rob Bricken of Topless Robot, a Masters of the Universe fan who’s nonetheless on the record as being disappointed in the MOTUC style here and here, issued me a challenge this weekend.
You have one week to try and convince me why I should pay $50 for a figure without a ball-jointed neck or shoulders.
He’s doing this partly because I talked to him into getting the Weapons Pak.*
First off, I have to ask: why the hell would I want to encourage any competition for what will probably be a ten-minute sellout? I should tell him–and you all–that Tytus sucks and you should avoid him like the plague. But I would be lying, since that’s not my opinion, and I’m nothing if not self-defeatingly honest.
Tytus does represent a tougher sale than the Weapons Pak. He’s expensive, and yes, he’s lacking ball joints. But I’m willing to take up the gauntlet.
Here are some reasons why a MOTU fan who prefers the Millennium style, but still likes MOTUC somewhat, would want Tytus (despite his more limited articulation):
- For me, a great part of the appeal is the simple fact that they even made a Tytus figure. I mean, this guy is the crown jewel of a lot of vintage MOTU collections. It’s like Hasbro released a new Vlix.
- He’s huge. The appeal of having him tower over my MOTUC display is way too much for me to resist, ball joints or no.
- Not that I think Tytus will need any help selling out, but buying Tytus will encourage Mattel to keep releasing other large figures and sets, including possibly the Powers of Grayskull dinosaurs, Granamyr, and even a new, Classics-scale Castle Grayskull.
- They’re obviously going to make a Megator, and you know the Four Horsemen are going to do him justice. He’s a big green monster and you’re going to have a much harder time resisting Megator than Tytus. But once you have Megator, do you really think you’re going to enjoy having him displayed without a Tytus? The asymmetry will drive you insane as certainly as a visit from Yog-Sothoth.**
- I haven’t seen a lot of commentary on this, but I actually think the Horsemen’s Tytus sculpt is stylistically closer to the Millennium line than Classics. Look at the pose, the arms and armlets, the oversized weapon–he would look just as good, and larger, towering over one’s Millennium collection.
- It’s always possible that, for one reason or another, Mattel won’t re-release Tytus. So think long and hard about your previous experiences in these situations and whether you think you’ll end up wanting to get a Tytus off eBay later…and then do a search for King Grayskull.
The one aspect of the challenge that I can’t really find a good response to is the lack of ball joints. That just plain sucks. For me, the reasons above trump that fact, and I’m known for disliking figures that don’t have at least a ball jointed neck.
On the other hand, MOTUC is practically the only toy-related thing I’m spending my money on these days, so that $50 might be hurting me a lot less than it would someone with more diverse interests.
Anyway, you’ve all got a week to decide. But Tytus is selling out, one way or the other.
* Of course, he didn’t even end up paying for his Weapons Pak–I got him one and traded it for a TR t-shirt when we met up after ROFLCon in Boston a few weeks ago (sadly, we both completely forgot to take photos).
** Yog-Sothoth is the Gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the Gate. Iä! Iä!
Heli
@Poe: You know you love watching your page hits skyrocket.
Poe
@Heli: It's true. I should try geek-baiting more often.
Thomas B
@Poe:
the geeks shall wait while the master baits…wait…that came out wrong.
PrfktTear
I just like quoting the dark knight whether it makes any sense or not.
why sooooo serioussssssss…
these sparring matches are fun! i'm quite the cunning linguist myself!
PrfktTear
@Poe: I just got it. I'm a little slow, today….
toyman2581
I can totally get behind the idea of wanting great stuff at great prices and being able to get it as easily as possible. That being said, as rant-inducing as the MOTUC line has become, the prices and availability are understandable if not pleasant.
Think about it. Why is this line hard to get? Because it's only available online in limited quantities. Ok, why is that? Because it's based off of a toy line that is over 25 years old and most, if not all of the people that will buy it would be collectors and not children/parents buying for their children. This line would go down in FLAMES if it were at retail. No modern kid wants He-Man. They want Bakugan and Ben-10 and lord knows what other garbage. I don't know actual numbers here and I don't claim to but the difference in amounts of us buying MOTUC and amounts of children needed to sustain a retail toy line would be in the thousands. Besides, look at DCUC. That line IS at retail and it's just as impossible to collect as MOTUC. I'm not saying I like the difficulty of collecting, but I understand it.
As far as price, yes these things are pricey. I would even say they are OVER-priced, but Mattel is a company. A company's main goal is to make a profit. If they can do that by providing a consumer with an item or service they want, hot damn. But never forget that it's all about them dead presidents. Mattel charges what they think people will pay to make them the most money, not what they hope everyone will think is fair. And these things are selling out in MINUTES aren't they? Think Mattel is giving that hefty price tag a second thought as they line their pockets? Again, I don't like these facts but I understand.
As for quality, most of this stuff is orgasmic. The only thing I can't understand is how anyone can be unhappy with the line itself. It's a perfect blend of new and classic style. All kinds of characters are being represented from all eras of MOTU. The accessories, bonus heads, and assorted what-not is fantastic. Granted, this is just my opinion and not everyone's but this stuff is too sweet for me to care whether the neck is ball-jointed or whether the figure is articulated enough for me to make it look like it's realistically polishing the bishop. That's just nit-picking.
Xander
I don't like the odd looking proportions, or the feet at all. And the fact that he looks a little too 200X series isn't helping at all. I haven't seen any pics that really wowed me, in fact I'm a little miffed that he's just not very tall in comparrison.
I think at this point the only reason I'm considering the purchase is that people will be expecting me to shoot him.
jumper11
I'm not going to get him, because good is dumb.
Newton Gimmick
Most compelling argument ever… For anything.
Mark
I think the biggest turn off for most should be the ugly face and head sculpt…and the right legs looks odd, not a very natural pose.
Poe
Here's a <a rel="lightbox" href="http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j154/sdashnaw/TYTUS/NEWTYTUS028.jpg" rel="nofollow">comparison shot of the original vs. the new Tytus.
Three things:
The original Tytus's face–WOOF! Looks like <a rel="lightbox" href="http://sookieverseblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/vladimir.jpg" rel="nofollow">Vladimir Kulich if he had his face sanded and glossed.
The new Tytus, on the other hand, has the jawline of <a href="http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&rlz=1B3GGLL_en___US378&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=robert+z%27dar&btnG=Search" rel="nofollow">Robert Z'Dar.
The size issue: yes, it's awesome that the original Tytus was so massive. But I've never even displayed my NECA Balrog because I have no place for it. A figure as huge as the original Tytus forces you to arrange the display around him. The new Tytus I can just put up on display. But clearly, that's just a matter of taste–some people would want to arrange their display around him.
PrfktTear
toyman2581: some people are living in the past. they think toys should still cost the same as they did back in 1995… or 1983.
i think that i'm leaning towards tytus. at the very least if i'm not happy with him i'm sure i'll find someone to take it off my hands!
Poe
Well, I'm getting him either way and I'll review him as a service to you all.
Mark
Vladimir Kulich looks like a barbarian/ viking warrior…far better look for Tytus' face to be based on comapred to Robert Z’Dar.
Poe
@Mark: I was being facetious. Tytus does have a large jawline but it's not puffy like Z'Dar's. But in principle I agree with your statement.
Fun fact: the Horsemen's original sculpt for the Millennium He-Man was based on Kulich in The 13th Warrior. I've seen the sculpt–it was awesome. When kid focus groups caused Mattel to switch to the more "anime" look for He-Man, the Kulich look was then used for King Grayskull.
Heli
@PrfktTear: Or 2009. 😉
Damien
I just wanted to point out how ridiculous it is for someone that collected the 'Millennium' line (and prefers it) to make this big an issue out of articulation, since the articulation in that entire toyline was utter shit.
'Course, I think it's bullshit that Tytus has crap articulation. Mattel needs to take its collective balls off my chin.
Mark
@Poe: Yeah, I know I was just saying LOL.
I seen the protoype on the 200x dvd special features, it really was awesome. Hmmm, must try and build a custom head for my 200x He-Man.
monkey boy
@PrfktTear:
first of all, what you call SALES TAX is pretty non-existent to most folks when it comes to the internet. so it IS a mystery as to why mattel feels the need to charge a sales tax when i can buy crap from amazon, ebay, TRUonline, hasbrotoyshop, etc etc etc etc with NO SALES TAX AT ALL.
you argue that given the choice between MOTUC as is and no MOTUC you would choose MOTUC in its current state, but why is there not a third option? a MOTUC line where the figures are priced more reasonably, are easier to obtain without constant headache (not to mention a lot of fans who don't have a chance to get the figures they want).
give ME the choice between heading out on TRU and wal-mart runs after work or on weekends, or having to frantically reload a webpage at NOON on a WORKDAY, and i'll gladly choose the former. because you know what, odds are probably about the same i come up empty handed if what i've been hearing from MOTUC buyers is any indication.
it seems the only way to ensure you get the figures you want is to be a total completist and subscribe, and i don't think it's reasonable that everybody who wants to pick and choose in this line has to go through the madness of ordering day.
and the whole "if you don't want it, don't buy it thing" is irrelevant in the case of what i've been saying, since often in the case of mattel figures i DO want it, but the headache of actually trying to get the figures is more than its worth. way more so than just driving around to stores and figure hunting.
monkey boy
@PrfktTear: furthermore, NO ONE expects toys to cost what they did in 1983. or even 1993. or even 2003…
the fact is there's nothing that really costs as much as MOTUC does in that scale…NOTHING. name one figure line in the 7" scale that hits $20 (other than ghostbusters)…the only thing i can think of are import toys, and mattel is a mass market company. even in 2010, specialty market toys with a lot less resources than mattel are charging around $13-$18 for their 7" figures.
so NO, i don't expect my toys to cost what they did in 1983, 93, or even 2003. but costing as much as other comparable toys in 2010? yeah, that'd be nice. NECA figure – $13 to $17, depending on where you buy. McFarlane figure – $10-$15 depending on where you buy. hasbro 6" figure – $13 or thereabouts. mattel's own DCUC – $13 to $15 depending on which stores implemented the price hike as of yet, DCDirect – $18 and they are really pushing it.
so where does MOTUC fit in with their comparable soft sculpts, minimal paint apps, and articulation that is on par with what hasbro is offering in similar scale? somehow, at the top of the ladder at $20. how's that work? dunno, considering i can get a marvel legends two-pack for that price, with TWO well-articulated and accessorized 6" figures.
dean
As far as MOTUC goes, I have been a completist since day one (except for the Spirit of Grayskull figure, but hey, that's most of us). Tytus will be the 1st MOTUC toy I will not buy.
Battle Cat was massive and awesome at a great price. Conversely, IMO, Mattel cut corners on Tytus (the first time I really feel they have done so w/MOTUC). The lack of size and articulation for the price does not appeal to me.
This is why I never bought any of Mattel's Giants of Justice, but purchased Toy Biz and Hasbro's Icons. Mattel has a history of cheaping out on bigger figures (if Flash would have been articulated like the 6" one, I'd have bought him).
I would be more than willing to award innovation in the large scale format, but there is very little in this instance. The smaller MOTUC figures are very innovative, and I love them. Tytus, not so much.
Matty wants me to vote with my dollars, so I am.
Motorthing
Wow….nobody's going to read down this far so I can say what I want and no-one will care….purple monkey dishwasher!!!!
I'm not getting Tytus – not like I'll have a chance with the two minute rosd in-your-cart no-longer-in-your-cart clusterfork it will obviously be anyway, but I've lost out on two figures and been jerked around to the point that a so-so figure of a character I don't care about finally pushes the "don't buy it" button in me so that I at least will not be feeding ToyGuru's ego on this one.
Wont matter a damn as it will sell out…..
Diego Zubrycky
My comparison with the vintage line is not a irrelevant one… It was crucial to prove my point.
I can deal with the sculpt issues and the lack of articulation. In Tytus' case, that's not a major problem for me.
My main problem with Tytus, I repeat, is the size. I think he's too small to be a giant…
As a giant he should be bigger than this.
IMO, every toyline needs a sense of scale… That's one of the things that made, for example, the MOTU vintage line great.
Let's talk about, for example, MOTUC Battle Cat. He's in scale with the other figures.. As he should be. And that's one of the things that make him so awesome.
Nobody would like a smaller Battle Cat… Even Poe voiced once some concern about Battle Cat's size…
http://www.poeghostal.com/2009/12/motuc-battle-ca…
Until Tytus, every figure of the MOTUC line had a sense of scale beetween each other. Tytus is the very first one to break this rule.
He's an undersized giant.
Before I get accused of nitpicking, let me remind that Tytus size is NOT a small detail to be nitpicked, but one of the things that define him. He is supposed to be a giant, after all.
He should be the center of the shelf, not one more figure among others.
I collect the vintage line, but I don't live in the past… I love and collect the MOTUC line and every figure is a great example of how to update a vintage toy… All of them, except Tytus.
IMO, MOTUC Tytus is the first figure of this collection that I really don't like. He's a great idea that could be done better, with more size and more articulation.
Even with his limitations, the vintage Tytus is better and more worthy of my money than this one.
But that's just my opinion… If you like Tytus, I don't have any problem with that.
I am just answering Poe's point.
Cheers,
D.
P.S.: BTW, I still hope to see a vintage Tytus and Megator re-released some day. They're the Holy Grail of my vintage collection.
Poe
Not that I want to prolong this argument, but ToyGuru posted this on the Mattycollector forums: